... Over 40 million Needy Children and Adults to be Affected Nationwide ... Expects ...WASHINGTON Feb. 29 -- A survey released today...Over 40 million needy children and adults would be affected by thedis...

Over 40 million Needy Children and Adults to be Affected Nationwide, Study

Expects

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A survey released today
by Spectrum Science Communications states that a little known
anti-privatization measure in the current farm bill would critically harm
Illinois' ability to effectively administer its Medicaid program. The
measure, offered as an amendment to the House-passed Farm Bill by Rep. Joe
Baca (D-CA), would restrict all states from using non-profits and other
private organizations in the administration of public assistance programs.

Over 40 million needy children and adults would be affected by the
disruptions in service that would occur if the federal government takes
away states' ability to partner with private firms and non-profit groups.
Among those who would be affected are over 14 million enrollees in the
Medicaid and The State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP), 26
million food stamp recipients, and 1.9 million participants in the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

"This provision will severely hamper the administration of hundreds of
social services programs in the U.S., affecting over two million recipients
of Medicaid in Illinois," said Audrey Spolarich of Spectrum Science
Communications.

The Spectrum study found that states such as Illinois rely on non-
government organizations to assist in the administration of many
means-tested social service programs. The non-profit organization America's
Second Harvest administers enrollment activities for Illinois' Food Stamp
program, benefiting 1.2 million state residents. Private contractors assist
with program administration and case management for the Medicaid and Child
Support Enforcement programs

"As someone who has had to administer these programs to recipients, I
can tell you first-hand how adversely impacted state governments will be if
this provision passes," said former South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges. "In
South Carolina and other states, important services like Medicaid and Child
Support Enforcement depend on commercial and non-profit support. We can't
let Washington play politics with the administration of these vital
programs."

All 50 states and the District of Columbia rely on non-profit and
commercial organizations to assist in the process of administering means-
tested programs, according to the study. A total of 309 social services
programs in the United States are administered by private organizations,
207 of which involve private contracts for direct beneficiary services.

The Baca amendment (Section 4015) specifically requires that only state
employees be involved in any part of the process of administering food
stamps to beneficiaries. States will not be able to opt out of this anti-
privatization measure, even if outsourced programs have been more cost-
effective and resulted in more enrolled beneficiaries in their states.

The provision "would deprive states of needed flexibility, remove a
significant means of innovation, bring to a halt many valuable programs now
in place," said Larry Goolsby Director of Legislative Affairs for the
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), a nonprofit, bipartisan
organization of state and local human service agencies.

The Baca amendment is not included in the Senate version of the farm
bill. The House and Senate must reconcile their versions of the bill before
the President can sign a measure into law.

About Spectrum Science Communications

Spectrum is the leading health-only communications practice among
public relations firms in Washington, DC, employing more than 50 staff
members, and serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, patient advocacy,
hospital and medical society clients throughout the U.S.

Spectrum Science Communications is committed to achieving the goals of
clients who are involved with issues, products, provider services or
research in life or human health sciences. The agency provides health
product marketing public relations, health public affairs, strategic
Internet communications, and design services. More information can be found
at http://www.spectrumscience.com.

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